Something finally occurred to me.
I see so many people who just feel stultified by the inability to act. People living hand to mouth who feel paralyzed by inability to get anything done. It's not just having not much money... there's lots of people who've been very successful coming from little or nothing. But it seems to be rarer and rarer these days, why is that? What's going on now that's different?
People still have good ideas. There's always the fear that there are no new good ideas, that everything's been done. That's not true, there are lots of great ideas that people can still accomplish. So, what is it, now? Those of us living paycheque to paycheque, getting by with increasing debt, credit card interest rates, etc... are just decried as lazy do-nothings. Takers.
With all the recent talk about the Swiss idea of giving all adults a guaranteed minimum income monthly, regardless of their employment status, it finally struck me. It's something that's happened to me, much to my dismay. I've been forced for so long to say, "Well... I just don't have the money to implement that project or this idea, I guess I'll have to put it off." And then the next idea gets put off. And the next. Until you find yourself just stultified and unable to even form ideas any longer. I used to have some great ideas for things to do. Projects for the future. But I live paycheque to paycheque. I work in a retail travel job, and don't make a whole lot of money. I pay down my credit cards when I can, I'm not super-deep in debt. But I don't have the funds to start new projects, and when I come home from working long retail hours being talked down to by many customers, I don't have any motivation left for new ideas. I read. I watch TV. I'm anesthetizing myself. So are so many of us.
Why is it? Because community is only for rich people now. No, I'm serious. The wealthy have networks that get their family members into jobs, into schools, into anywhere they need to be. And the "libertarians" and Ayn Rand worshipers have been trying to convince us for years that it's all about your own individual impetus to become a success. That we don't need the help of others, and we should not help others. But that's not how the wealthy work. Again, I'm using broad strokes here, and there are of course self-made men and women who struggled up with no wealthy benefactors, etc... but as time goes on, it's harder and harder to do that. Why? Because we're bring told that doing it on our own is the only way to do it. Getting help from community or from government is just this side of COMMUNISM! And that's the worst possible thing! How well do your know your neighbours? How well connected are you through your place of work, or your local community centre? Volunteer work?
The wealthy don't have any of these worries. They have the funds and the network and the community to accomplish all of these things without deciding, "Do I start this project, or skip meals for a couple of days?" or, "Do I gas up my car or feed my kids this week?" Income disparity may be the biggest issue currently facing us, and we're told over and over that it's no big deal. Why doesn't anyone seem to have any money? Because it's all in the holdings of the mega rich. It's not in the economy. It's only making more wealth for those that hold it.
So, this has been long and rambling. It probably doesn't make much sense, but I had to get it out and off of my chest.
Some information about income inequality (some we've seen before, I know):
= new reply since forum marked as read
First of all, I agree with your post 100%, but I'm wondering if you're actually in the USA or somewhere else (Canada, UK?)
Just wondering because of all the British spelling rather than USA.
Doesn't really make a difference because your post has a lot of truth in it. I was just curious.
One major advantage we have in Canada vs. the USA is that it is unlikely that our livelihood will be ruined by a sudden and unexpected medical emergency.
We also had much stronger regulations on our banks during the financial crisis, which prevented Canada from falling quite so quickly or far as many of our neighbours and peers. However, our current right wing Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is working his hardest to strip many of those regulations away, setting us up for a big fall if similar things happen again.
And thanks 
How on earth did this happen to Canada? When will you have the chance to vote him out, and do you think Canadians will do so?
that Americans are trinket rich, but equity poor. We have gadgets, nice furniture & nice cars, but no equity in our houses or savings accounts. It must be true because recently there was that study that found a huge number of people could not come up with $2000 without the help of a family member or friend. 
on edit: from May 2011
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2011/05/50-americans-couldnt-come-up-2000/38058/
Taken together with those who would pawn their possessions, sell their home, or take out a payday loan, 25.7% of respondents who were asked about coping methods (equal to 18.6% of all respondents) would come up with the funds for an emergency by resorting to what might be seen as extreme measures,” the authors write. “Along with the 27.9% of respondents who report that they could certainly not cope with an emergency, this suggests that approximately 46.5% of all respondents are living very close to the financial edge.
It's very easy in our culture. You are bombarded with ads, everywhere you go, even your mailbox. Then I read the book, "Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic."
http://www.amazon.com/Affluenza-The-All-Consuming-Epidemic-Currents/dp/1576753573
It's worth it for the collection of Horsey cartoons, alone! It changed my perspective. I de-cluttered my entire house, including my basement. Then I went after a storage shed we were renting. We were renting space for stuff we never used!! I emptied it in a couple of months & hardly any of it ended up back in my house. I was the most popular person at the two local thrift shops that summer. 
And when I find myself falling back into it, I read it again.
When I was at the storage place that summer, one day a man came in & his unit was about 5 from mine, so we struck up a conversation. I told him my goal was to have it emptied by end of summer. He said, "If you do that, call me. I have three units & am looking to get another one. I don't even know how to start to get rid of this stuff." He's basically a hoarder who has enough money to stash it away.
And hoarders. Oh my. Don't get me started. I live across the street from a hoarder family. Last month, when we got a record 9 inches of rain, they had two Bagsters full of stuff, sitting in their front yard. It took two calls to the city & an angry email with a photo of the mess, before they were finally made to have it removed.
We have a sick society. The religious right blames feminists, gays & minorities for our problems, but really, it's love of money/stuff that is the problem with this country, & when I look around, the Christians have Affluenza just as bad as any other group. It's a cultural sickness.
The powers that be hate the idea of a guaranteed income, but that's because it would take power away from them. How psycho could your boss get if you knew that you could survive (perhaps at a reduced level) without working for him?
And this made me
& also 
at the same time:
it would have to be irrespective of income, or else the rich would squawk. Damn, they'd want their $28,000, if they already had their $28 million, because otherwise they'd complain about it.
The OP said that community is now only for the rich. So is leisure time. When you don't have a job & are fretting about how to make the rent & pay for groceries for the kids, that is not leisure time.
I would think most American's would be happy to see what kind of problems this system would generate,but I'm sure there are many who would object, even it would be to their benefit. Just like now, & how they vote repub.
